Hamlet
26 iulie.
In aceasta zi in anul 1602, James Robertes a introdus in Stationers’ Register, “A booke called the Revenge of Hamlett Prince Denmarke as yt was latelie Acted by the Lord Chamberleyne his servants”. Shakespeare se pare ca a scris piesa “Hamlet” pe la 1600. Cert e ca doi dintre oamenii lui Chamberlain in distributia originala de la teatrul Globe au fost Richard Burbage, in rolul lui Hamlet, si Shakespeare, probabil ca Ghost si probabil; chiar si in rolul lui Claudius.
E clar ca James Robertes practica un soi de hotie in aceste vremuri premergatoare copyright-ului, dar si Shakespeare imprumutase destul. Pe langa o serie de surse mitice, o saga daneza din sec 11-12 intitulata “Amleth” povesteste despre Feng ce si-a ucis fratele, Horwendil, ca sa se insoare cu cumnata acestuia, Gerutha, facandu-l pe Amleth ful sa se prefaca nebun ca sa se salveze, pe Feng care devenise suspicios, sa intinda tot felul de capcane (reprezentate de femei sau spioni) pentru a-l atrage in cursa pe tanarul Amleth, facand ca Amleth sa fie trimis in Anglia insotit de doi pierde-vara ce trebuiau sa transmita o scrisoare cu un ordin de executie, pe care Amleth va incerca sa puna mana.
Dincolo de complexitate si adancime, ceea ce a adus in plus Shakespeare e procedeul piesei-in-piesa. Istoricul de teatru, John Mills (“Hamlet on Stage: The Great Tradition”, 1985) a cercetat peste un secol de reprezentatii ale unor actori ce au utilizat “o scena a tararii lui Hamlet” pentru aceasta, incepand cu Edmund Keane in 1814, care se apropie pe furis de Claudius pentru ca apoi…
“In timpul reprezentatiei, Dl Kean a uitat cu totul de delicatetea sa caracteristica, si care trebuia sa fie mereu amprenta unui domn in fata unei doamne, si nu doar ca iubita i-a vazut fundul, dar s-a si tarat spre rege pe burta ca un sarpe ranit pe pajiste…”
Un alt soi de documentare gasim pe site-ul barbarapaul.com, care listeaza toate cartile ce fac aluzie in titlu la Hamlet. Sunt peste 150 de titluri ce includ To be or not to be, To be/Not be (24 titluri), Undiscovered Country (22), Outrageous Fortune (18), Perchance to Dream (16), No Traveler Returns (11), si lista continua pana la To Take Arms (subintitulata, ‘A Year in the Provisional IRA’) (1). Tot pe acest site gasim si o anagrama a primelor trei versuri din soliloqui: “In one of the Bard’s best-thought-of tragedies, our insistent hero, Hamlet, queries on two fronts about how life turns rotten.”
Exista de asemenea si aproape la fel de multe parodii dupa Hamlet, precum aceasta ce ii datoreaza mult lui Dead Parrot a lui Monty Python:
Hamlet Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath bore me on his back a thousand times. I cannot believe he is dead. Tell me, good sir, what is wrong with my friend Yorick?
Digger I’ll tell you what’s wrong with him, my Lord. He’s dead, that’s what’s wrong with him.
Hamlet No, no, he’s resting. Look you upon those lips that I have kissed.
Digger My Lord, I know a dead jester when I see one, and I’m looking at one right now.
Hamlet No, he is not dead. He is merely resting.
Digger Resting?
Hamlet Yes, a remarkable fellow, Yorick. Beautiful skin tone.
Digger His skin tone don’t enter into it - he’s stone dead.
Si asa continua pana cand groparul face o greseala aproape fatala:
Digger He’s not pining, he’s passed on. This jester is no more. He has ceased to be. He’s expired and gone to meet his maker. This is a late jester. He’s a stiff. Bereft of life, he rests in peace. If you hadn’t wrenched him from the earth, he’d be pushing up the daisies. He’s rung down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. This is an ex-jester! He cannot speak, and he cannot be!
Hamlet To be or not to be…
Digger God, not a soliloquy! I have work to do.
Hamlet Right then, wrap him up. I’ll take him with me. Yorick loves a good ride.
